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THE LIVES SND CHARACTERS "S^i'^ 



OF THE 



SIGNERS 



MECELEHBUEG DECLAEATIOH OF lUDEPEHDEKCE, 



OF M^Ti ins. 



Delivered at Charlotte, H, C, on the 24th of May, 1875, 

AT THE HE(4UKST OF THE 
MECKLENBURG HISTORICAL-. SOCIETY, 



JOHJS^ I#WHEELER, 

Author of the History of North Cai'olina. 



Published by Order of the Mecklenburg Historical Society. 



CHARLOTTE : 

Observer Book and Job Power Press Print. 



/cT* 



CORRESPOKDENCE. 



CHAKun IE, N. C May 22, 1875. 

Dear Sik— We have been appointed a Committee in behalf of the Mecklen- 
bnrg Historical Society to notify you that at the meeting last night you were 
requested to address the Association on the general subject of the Mecklenburg 
Declaration of Independence of May 20, 1775, and especially on the Personal 
Character and Services of the Signers of the same, and to ask your acceptance 
and to arrange the time and place as may be agreeable to yourself. 
Respectfully, 

R. I, McDowell. 
Wm. M. Shipp, 
W. J. Yates, 
M. M. Ore, 
T. F. Drayton, 

Committer of the MecMenbnrff Hiatarical Society. 
To C!oi. John H. Wheei.er, 



Charlotte, N. C.. May 22. 1«75. 

Messrs. R. I. McDowell, Wni M. Shipp, W. J. YnlfS. M. M. On; T. F. Drmfton, 
Committee : 
Gentlemen— I have received your note, in behalf of tlic Mecklenburg His- 
torical Societv, connnunicating a request that I should addrc^ss that body on the 
subject of the Mecklenbui'g Declaration of Independence of the 2()t-h of May, 
1775, and especiallv on the Personal Character and Public Services ot the Signers 
of the same. Your note requests mv acceptance and kindly allows me t(. tix the 
time and place. It will afford me much satisfaction to contribnte in any way 
towards aiding in the universal pajan of joy that swells trom every portion of 
North Carolina on this auspicious occasion, and I will tix the time at S;8() p. m. 
on Monday next, at the Court House, in this place. 

Yours, J<'^'>' H. Wheeler. 

p. S.— May I be allowed to suggest to your fellow-citizens, who may h;ive any 
records, mementoes, or traditions relative to the period of 1775, to deposit them 
with your Society for future reference. J- *^ " • 






COL. WHEELER'S LECTURE 

ON THE 

ttf^Ienkrj J^cclaration of |frttltpcmlcnti|, 

DELIVERED AT CHARLOTTE, May 24, 187S. 



Gentlemen of the Mecklenburg Historical 
Society : 
I regard it as an omen favorable to 
the success of your excellent Society 
that the first address (which by 
your constitution is aniuxally to be 
made) should occur so near the Centen- 
nial Anniversary of the Mecklenburg 
Declaration of Independence. It is an 
epoch in histor^^ It marks the age in 
which we live. 

The assemblage of such a concourse, 
larger than ever before assembled in our 
State on any similar occasion, of the 
lovely and the learned, of the generous 
and the good, from every section of our 
Republic; the perfect order and deco- 
riun which- prevailed; the propitious 
season granted to the occasion by Provi- 
dence, rendered still more genial by 
your gentle climate; the joyous coun- 
tenances of the thousands of ha])pyand 
grateful persons, the brilliant displays 
of eloquence and learning, all combined 
to make the occasion long to be re- 
membered. 

After such a carnival of enjoyment and 
excitement any further attempt to inte- 
rest you is one of danger and dithculty. 
I feel and appreciate the position, and 
approach it with sincere emotion, fear- 
ing lest my success may not be ecjual to 
my wishes, or your expectations. I shall 
speak of the deeds of the illustrious 
dead; and trust that no word will fall 
from my lips unworthy of this high and 
holy occasion. 

"And chiefly Thou, O Spirit, that doth prefer 
Before all temples the upright heart and pure, 
Instruct me. What in me is dark. 
Illumine. What is low, raise and support. 
That to the height of this great argument 
I may assert eternal Providence, 
And iustify the ways of God to men." 

In addressing vou on this occasion I 



shall endeavor to be concise, rather than 
declamatory; useful, than interesting: 

1. I propose to trace with a rapid 
hand the early history of our coimtry 
from the first landing of the Englishman, 
to the date of the event which we have 
just connnemorated. 

2. To analyse the characters of the 
first settlers of this State, their love of 
freedom and impatience of restraint, 
which principles led to 

3. Independence from all foreign rule 
or powers. 

4. Trace the consequences of that 
declaration, not only on our own coun- 
try, but upon the destinies of the civil- 
ized worUl, and close my address with 
some 

5. Historical reminiscences of Char- 
lotte, and some biographical sketches of 
the Signers of the Mecklenburg Declar- 
ation of Independence of 20th May, 
1775. 

These are the subjects to which your 
attention is invited. 

I speai< to North Carolinians, as a 
North Carolinian, and of North Caro- 
lina. 

THE FIRST LANDING OF THE ENGLISHMAN 

In these United States was on the shores 
of North Carolina. It was in the month 
of July, 1584, that the fleet fitted out, 
under the auspices of Sir Walter Ral- 
eigh, and under command of Amidas 
and Barlow, rested at Roanoke Island. 

An accurate and detailed account of 
this expedition has been preserved. In 
the language of the historian, "they 
found here a people most gentle, loving 
and faithful; void of all guile and trea- 
son, and such as lived after the manner 
of the golden age." * 

*Hakluyt, VoL U. p. 297. 



Tliey landed on the Lslaiid on the 
loth of July, 1584. Captain Aniidas, 
after returning thanks to Almighty God 
for their safe deliverance, took posses- 
sion of the 8ame iii these memorable 
Avords : 

■■ We take possession of this land in 
right of the Queen, Most Excellent 
Majesty, as rightful Queen and Princess, 
of ye same, to be delivered over to ye 
use of Sir Walter Raleigh, according to 
her Majestie's letters patent, under her 
great seal." 

Here the foundations of the Republic 
were laid; here the city of Raleigh was 
first estnhlished; and here the tirst child 
of English parents was born on this 
continent.* 

Here was the cradle in which was 
rocked the mighty infant whose gigantic 
limbs now stretch from the Atlantic to 
the Pacific ocean : 

Time-honored land, where hope and faith 

Souglit refuge in a night of gloom. 

And reared Freedom's altar by the Eagle's nest. 

It wei'C a tedious task, and not ger- 
mane to the present occasion to describe 
the trials, privations and sufferings un- 
dergone by these colonists. Severe as 
tbey were, they were borne with patience 
and fortitude. 

It had been about eighty years since 
Columbns discovered America, (14'.)2, ) 
to the time of the events we are now 
discussing, and about the same period 
from this time to the date of the chartei' 
of Charles the Second, (1(>()8,| when a 
(xovernor was appointed for Carolina. 
It is here to be remarked as a piece of 
mournful history of our State that both 
the Proprietor of the colony, and its first 
Governor were victims of tyranny and 
both met a tragic fate. But they never 
die who perish in a great cause. As long 
as the pellucid waters of the lake of the 
Dismal Swamp shall reflect the "light of 
the fire-fly's lamp" will the name of 
Drunnnond lie preserved, and as long 
as the majestic oak, the monarch of 
the woods, shall grow, so long will the 
name of Raleigh be revered. 

* As early as the 12th of August, 1584, at Kal- 
eigh's colony on Koanoke Island, NdrthTarolina, 
the native Chieftain, Manteo. was mlinitted into 
fellowshiiJ of Christ's flock by holy Imiitism ; and 
tive days alter. Eleanor, dsughtor of the Gover- 
nor, and the wife of Ananias Dare, was delivered 
of a daughter in Koanoke, and ,ye same was 
christened there the Sunday following, and be- 
cause this child was the first < hristian born in 
Virginia she was named Virginia Dare.— i/«fc- 
Inyt. 11, 3.4. 

. he Legislature of 1870 has embalmed their 
names by calling the county and town after j 
them. 



Tlie government, so far as any was 
exercised, was vested in the Lords Pro- 
prietors, by the charter of Charles the 
Second. The Proprietors were tlie Earl 
of Clarendon, Duke of Al>>emarle, Earl 
of Craven, Lord Berkley, Lord Ashley, 
Sir Geo. Carteret, Sir John Colleton and 
Sir William Berkley. Their charter 
comprised all the country Ijetween the 
Atlantic and Pacific between 81 and 3(> 
degrees. Tliese Proprietors each had a 
deputy to represent him in the Province, 
and in some cases the Proprietor him- 
self resided in this country. Sir William 
Berkley, in KiGS, was the Governor of 
Virginia ; and l)y instructions from Lord 
Clarendon and other Lords Proprietors, 
was instructed to apjioint a Governor 
for Albemarle and six persons as coim- 
sellors. 

THE CHARACTER AND PRINCIPLES OF THE 
FIRST SETTLERS OF NORTH CAROLINA. 

The authentic record of the Legisla- 
tive history of North Carolina begins 
witVi the autumn of 1H09. But with 
such a people laws were not necessary. 
They had no need to be commanded to 
do right, or forbidden to do wrong, for 
they a<lhered to the one and abhorred 
the other. 

"Here was a colony of men scat- 
tered among- forests, hermits with wives 
and children resting on the bosom of 
nature in ])erfect harmony with the 
wilderness of their gentle I'liiwe. The 
l)lanters of Albemarle weie men led to 
the choice of their resirlcnce from a 
hatred of restraint. Are there any 
who doubt man's capacity for self- 
government? Let them study the 
history of North Carolina. Its in- 
hal)itants were restless and turbulent 
in theii' imperfect snbmission to a gov- 
ernment imposed from abroad; the ad- 
ministration of tlie colony was firm, 
humane, and tranquil when they were 
left to take care of theuiselves. Any 
government but one of tlieir own insti- 
tution was oi)pressive."t 

The great historia.i of our age, Mr. 
Banci-oft, a writer whose lal)ors have 
immortalized him, whose pen has 
touched on every liistorical subject, and 
on each subject toucho^l f)n it has 
adorned, and whose writings have done 
justice to our State, thus records : 

■'North Carolina was settled by the 
fieest of the free. The settlers were 
gentle in their tempers, of serene 

lChalH\ers, 3ffi, quoted by Banci'oft, 11, 151. 



mindy, enemies to violence and Vdood- 
slied. Not all the successive revo- 
hition.s had kindled vindictive pas- 
.sions; freedom, entire freedom, was 
enjoyed without anxiety as without 
guarantees. The charities (jf life were 
scattered at their feet like the flowers of 
their meadows."'* 

For more than half of a century did 
the rule of the Proprietary Government 
exist The Governors appointed by 
these Proprietors to rule in this Pro- 
vince, with a few exceptions, were un- 
worthy of their trust. To oppress the 
people, to aggrandize themselves at all 
liazards, seemed to be their chief object. 
The history of this period is full of abso- 
lute tyranny and oppression on one 
hand, and of steady opposition on the 
other. 

Gov. Burringtitn, who was Governor 
of the Lords Proprietors, and also under 
the ('rown in 1730 (tor at this date the 
Proprietors, except Lord Granville, re- 
<'onveyed for a valuable c<,)nsideration to 
the Crown all their rights) in an official 
dispatch to the Duke of New Castle, 
Secretary of State, dated 20th February, 
1730, thus accurately describes the 
people! of Nortii Carolina at this timer 

" The inhabitants of North Carolina 
are not industrious, but subtle and 
crafty to admiration ; always behaved 
insolently to their Governors ; some of 
them they have imprisoned ; drove 
others out of the country, and at other 
times have set up two or three support- 
ed by men under arms. All the Gov- 
ernors that have ever lived in this 
colony, lived in fear of the people (ex- 
cept myself ) and dreaded their assem- 
blies. These ])eople are neither to be 
cajoled nor outwitted. Whenever any 
Governor attempts to effect anything by 
these means, he will lose his labor and 
show his ignorance." 

He complains that the people gave 
no presents (to bribe) their Governor. 

The Governors, appointed In' the 
Crown, if improved by education and 
public services, did not restrain their 
haughty bearing towards the ijeojjle — 
nor did the people relax in their sturdy 
advocacy of their rights and their de- 
votion to liberty. The population at 



* Bancroft, History of the U. S., Vol. 1, pp. 
467, 472. 

fMSS Documents procured from Eolls Office 
in London by me. 



this time (1730) as stated in a dispatch 
from Governor Binrington, was 

Whites 30,000 

Negroes (\,i)(K) 

Lidians 800 

Total 36,000 

The population was at this time 
chiefly confined to the eastern part of 
the State — to the Albemarle and Cape 
Fear country. The unfortunate at- 
tempt of the Scotch people to free 
themselves from illegal authority, and 
to place Charles Edward, grand son of 
James the II. on the throne, which cul- 
minated on the fatal field of Culloden, 
(16th April, 174(),) caused many to emi- 
grate to Anrerica. They settled in the 
western part of the State. The op- 
pression of F'erdinand in the establish- 
ment of the Roman Catholic religion 
in Moravia drove many of these Mo- 
ravians to America. Many from Ire- 
land, after the rebellion of the Earls of 
Tyronne and Tyreconnell, came first to 
Pennsylvania, thence to North Caro- 
lina. The revocation of the Edict of 
Nantes by Louis XIV, (in 1685,) lost to 
France thousands of her best citizens. 
Governor Dobbs received a petition 
from Rowan county in 1754, which 
states that the inhabitants of this sec- 
tion were composed of ahnost all na- 
tions of Europe. The prudence of the 
German, the ardor of the Irish, the sa- 
gacity of the Scotch, and the enthu- 
siasm of the French, were fit material 
for the formation of a great people. 
Deeply imbued w^ith the spirit of liber- 
ty, civil and religious, having endured 
oppression and tyranny, such a people 
were but little fit to submit to unlawful 
authority. These were 

' Men wlio knew their rights. 

And knowing, dared maintain." 

During the long administration of 
Gov. Gabriel Johnston of nearly twenty 
years, and of Gov. Arthur Dobbs often 
years, the people of North Carolina 
were peaceful; for these rulers were 
prudent and forbearing. But serious 
troubles commenced with the adminis- 
tration of William Tryon, who succeed- 
ed Gov. Dobbs, and was Governor of 
North Carolina under the crown from 
1765 to 1771, and whose name is preserv- 
ed by one of your principal streets in 
Charlotte, and' by a mountain in Polk 
county. t He vvas a soldier, "sudden 

I Williamson's Historv of North Carolina, vol. 
11, p. 117. 



and quick in quarrel." Trained to arms, 
he viewed the sword as the true scep- 
tre of government. He was known to 
the Indians by the signiticant sobriquet 
of "Great Wolf." He was a tyrant in 
government and a bigot in religion. By 
his course he was only the unconscious 
instrument of bringing about the re- 
sults which the inexorable logic of 
events rendered inevitable. An an- 
cient maxim is. that 

"The mills of the Gods grind slowly, 
But they grind exceeding small." 

The people of Mecklenburg county 
were not slow in exhibiting to 
royal power their sturdy temper and 
disposition. A grant from the crown 
of a large body of land in Mecklenburg 
county had been made to Henry Eus- 
tice McCullock, who employed John 
Frohawk to locate these lands. The 
people of Mecklenburg rose in their 
might, seized the surveyor, Frohawk, 
and drove him out of the county. 
They seized Tryon's ammunition, under 
convoy from Charleston, at Phifer's 
Hill, and completely destroyed it in 
December, 1771. These were but the 
buzzing of that Hornet's Nest that 
stung so fatally royal authority. 

But Tryon had to witness in his own 
palace, and surrounded by his forces, 
evidence more decided of "the spirit of 
the people. The stamp act passed 1765. 
this produced great excitemont, and 
when the sloop of war, the Diligence, 
arrived in the Cape Fear river. The 
men of New Hanover, led by Ashe and 
Waddell, seized the sloop of war's boat, 
hoisted it on a cart, marclied into Wil- 
mington, and demanded of (lov. Tryon 
to produce the Stamp Master, Hous- 
ton, who was a member of his council 
and an inmate of his house. On his 
refusal, preparations were made to set 
fire to the house, and destroy with it 
the Governor, Stamp Master, 'and the 
menials of power. This brought forth 
the Stamp Master. He was seized by 
the people, carried to the market 
house, and there forced to take a sol- 
enin oath not to attempt to execute his 
office. Uporf this he was released, and 
he returned to his discomfited and en- 
raged Master. 

Now this act, not done under any 
disguise, but by men well known, not 
at night, but in broad- day, not upon 
harmless carriers of freight, or the 
crew of a private vessel, but upon the 
agent of royalty itself, has hardly l)een 



known out of the State, and some pro- 
fess to disbelieve it. The throwing 
overboard the tea at Boston, by men 
disguised as Indians and at night, has 
been justly lauded and "pealed and 
chimed upon every tongue of fame." 
Why deny to our forefathers a similar 
meed of renown? The Centennial An- 
niversary of this event was celebrated 
in the rotundo of the Capitol at Wash- 
ington, and the heroic acts of the Bos- 
ton men lauded to the heavens, while 
the more daring deeds of the men of 
New Hanover is hardly known in our 
own State. 

But an event of more historic im- 
portance occurred during the adminis- 
tration of Tryon, by which the first 
blood of the Colonists in this country 
was spilled by royal arms. The ex- 
actions of the crown officers, by way of 
taxes, from the Governor to the lowest 
balifl', were intolerable, and finding that 
no redress could be obtained, exaspera- 
ted to desperation, the people rose in 
arms. These were without practiced 
leaders, and any military discipline or 
organization. Tryon raised an army of 
more than a thousand men, met them 
on the ])anks of Alamance, on the IGth 
May, 1771, and after a conflict of two 
hours, the Regulators, as tliey were 
called, were dispersed, leaving twenty 
dead on the field. The royal forces 
had one officer killed and one danger- 
ously wounded, and about sixty mcTi 
killed, wounded and missing. Doubt- 
less the Regulators were guilty of some 
excesses ; but they were greviously op- 
pressed. The principles that they as- 
serted and fought for were the same 
that carried our fathers to the battle- 
field a few years later. 

Shortly after the hattle of Alamance. 
Tryon went to New York, where he 
had been appointed Royal Governor, 
and was succeeded by Josiah Martin, 
destined to be the last vestige of royal 
authority in North Carolina. 

It has been with some care to con- 
dense this detail of history, which, 
doubtless, to many of you is so familial- 
that it sounds "as a twice-told tale." 
yet it was demanded by our programme. 
JFor it brings us to the period we have 
this day met to commemorate. We 
have pointed out the spot of the land- 
ing of the Englishmen in our State, we 
have analyzed the character of the ear- 
ly founders of our State, we have ex- 
amined and manifested the principles 



and motives of action that guided 
tiiem, and which led to the epoch 

OF INDEPENDENCE. 

Gov. Martin was more of a politician 
tluin a soldier. He endeavored to pro- 
pitiate the people by kindness and a 
course of conduct contrasting favoia- 
bly with that of Tryon. But the hour 
had come when royal power had to 
cease. However potent a Prospero 
Governor Martin might be, he could 
not avert the tempest now gathering 
around him. The heavy tread of the 
warrior buckling on his armor, prepar- 
ing for the contest of arms, was heard. 
The people were up and ready for the 
conflict. 

But that "the men of Mecklenburg 
should, in advance of all other portions 
of this continent, have assembled on 
the 2()th May, 1775, on this consecrated 
spot and declare themselves free and 
independent of the crown of England, 
and for the maintenance of which in- 
dependence solemnly pledge their lives, 
their fortunes and their most sacred 
honor," is full of grandeur and moral 
sublimity. We may search, and vainly 
search, "through the pages of history, 
and imagination can not conceive a 
grander or nobler spectacle. 

" Is there in the abyss. 

Is there among the adamantine spheres 
Wheeling unshaken through the boundless void 
Aught that with half such majesty can fill 
The human bosom, as when Brutus rose, 
Kefulgent from the strolce of Caesar's fate, 
Amid the crowd of patriots, and his arm 
Aloft extending like eternal Jove 
When guilt brings down the thunder, called 

aloud 
On Tully's name, and shook the crimson sword 
(Jf Justice in his wrapt astonished eye. 
And bade the father of his country hail, 
For lo tlie tyrant prostrate oa the dust 
.^nd Rome again is free." 

Each and every one of those patriots 
who signed this memorable Declara- 
tion, and who UK) years ago stood 
where we now stand, have passed away. 
This is the fiat of nature. Man in his 
best estate is but vanity. "His days are 
as grass; as a flower so he tlourisheth ; 
for the wind passeth over it, and it is 
gone and the place thereof shall 
know it , no more." But heroic 
deeds and noble actions are not 
thus transient. Age can not wither 
them, and time only adds to their un- 
fading lustre. Living proof of this is 
exhibited here to-day. The same ex- 
alted patriotism that animated your 
forefathers is cherished by their de- 
scendants. May we not hope and be- 



lieve that the next Centennial will here 
be celebrated by admiring and patriotic 
posterity! 

It is not proposed to condescend to 
examine the evidences as to the au- 
thenticity of the Mecklenburg Declara- 
tion of Independence. It is true that 
it has been questioned by some carping 
critics; but they have been answered, 
and exhausted by argument from abler 
hanils. The last, and not the least, is 
the fair, full and unanswerable argu- 
ment of Gov. Graham, delivered in this 
place on 4th February, 1875. This is no 
longer an open question. Doubtless it 
was difficult for them to realize the great 
and daring deed done by the Convention 
of Mecklenburg more tlian a year in ad- 
vance of the National Declaration. To 
these critics it seems as strange as it was 
to the Royal Governor Martin, who, in 
his dispatch dated June, 1775, to his 
government, stated that "it was a dis- 
solution of the Laws, Government and 
Constitution of the country, and set- 
ting up a system of rule and regulation 
subversive of his Majesty's Govern- 
ment." 

This is true, and just what was in- 
tended to be done. The National De- 
claration of 1776 is not more true and 
authentic than is the Mecklenburg De- 
claration of 20th May, 1775. The one is 
elaborate and extended, the other is 
more concise and clear. If the one 
was destined to become the Saviour of 
the country, the other was the fore- 
runner ; for it was truly as "the 
voice of one crying in the wilderness, 
prepare ye the way, make his paths 
straight." The one is the unani- 
mous declaration of thirteen States, 
pledged to mutual support and co- 
operation ; the other, without any sup- 
port or hope of support, made the bold 
and dubious resolve. The one chal- 
lenges our admiration, the other oui" 
veneration. Both are immortal. These 
papers introduced a new era of man- 
kind. Lord Chatham declared in the 
English Parliament that he "must avow 
in all his reading and observation, that 
for solidity of reasoning, force of sa- 
gacity, wisdom of conclusion, under 
such a complication of difficult circum 
stances, no nation or body of men can 
compare to the General Congress as- 
sembled at Philadelphia on the 4th of 
July, 1776." 

Mirabeau said, "I ask if the powers 
that have the control of the civilized 



globe have dared to read that nianifes- 
tato of human right?!, and tlien interro- 
gate their consciences after the perusal. 
I ask if there is at this day a single 
government of Euroj^e, which, judged 
by the principles of the American De 
ciaration of Independence, is not di 
vested of all its rights and all its power." 

THE EFFECTS FOLLOWING THESE DECLA- 
KATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE, 

not only upon our own country, but 
upon the destinies of the civilized 
world. At this period the civilized 
world was ruled by hereditary or mili- 
tary rulers, governing Ijy the grace of 
God or gunpowder. England was ruled 
by George III. Although an amiable 
man, he was never distinguished for 
virtue or ability; almost an imbecile, 
and finally ended his days in insanity. 
France, under the despotic sway of 
Louis XYL, was ruled, not for tlie good 
of the people, but by the caprices of 
his dissolute court, Madame Barre and 
others. Pius YI. held the consciences 
of men and monarchs by his decrees 
t\-om the Yatican. Spain was an abso- 
lute monarchy, and sunk in supersti- 
tion and cruelty. Eussia^ groaned un- 
der the absolute rule of the imperial, 
and not unspotted Catharine. What a 
change has Ijeen wrought since this 
period! That change has been accom- 
plished l>y the principles of our Revo- 
lution, placing power where it only be- 
longs—Mi the hands of the people Its 
wonder-working and vivifying influ- 
ences have pervaded every civilized 
government on earth. England is now 
but noniinally a monarchy. Tliere the 
liberty of the press and the citizen, the 
rights of person and property are as se- 
cure as in any portion of our Repub- 
lic. Monarchy has no longer even a 
name in France; the cowl has been 
stripped from superstition ; the torch 
of fanaticism has been struck from the 
hand of the incpisitor. Spain recently 
was a republic, and serfdom no longer 
exists in Russia. 

The last letter that the author of the 
Natio)ial Declaration of Independence 
ever wrote (dated 24th June, 1S2G, and 
he died the 4th July following) de- 
scribes with prophetic beauty the won- 
derful consequences of this event. 
"May it be to the world, what I beli(n-e 
it will be to some parts sooner, to some 
later, but finally to all, the signal of 
arousing men to Innst the chains witli 
which ignorance and superstition had 



persuaded them to bind themselves 
and to assume the blessings and securi- 
ty (jf self-government. All eyes an- 
opening to the rights of man. The 
general spread of the light of science 
has already laid open to every view 
the palpable ti'uth that the mass of 
mankind has not been born with sad- 
dles on tlu'ir l>acks, nor a favored few 
booted and spurred ready to ride them 
legitimately l)r the grace of God. 

There are grounds of hope for others 
and for ourselves. Let the annual re- 
turn of this day forever refresh our 
recollections of these rights, and an 
undiminislied devotion to them. 

Such have been the effects of these De- 
clarations. Other reminiscenses than this 
Declai'ation cluster around this Centen- 
nial city of Charlotte and its environs. 
The lieroic battle ground of King's 
Mountain, Ramsour's Mill, Hanging 
Rock and Cowan's Ford, are in its vi- 
cinity. 

Here in Chai'lotte, on September 30, 
1780, Maj. VVm. R. Davie, with a small 
body of troops, with Maj. Jos. Graham 
and' Col. Locke, held Lord Cornwallis 
and the whole British army in check, 
on tlie retreat from which Locke was 
killed and Graham severely wounded. 
Here, on the 3d of December, 1780, 
did the Fabius of America, (General 
Nathaniel Greene, vmder orders from 
General ^^'ashington and Congress, take 
command of tbe Southern army, which 
had been for the time defeated and dis- 
persed at Camden, under Gen. Gates, 
on l()th August, 1780. Here, on that day, 
Greene in general orders assumed the 
command, and "hoped that their mis- 
fortunes would cease, and victory and 
the glorious advantages attending it 
might be the future portion of the 
Southern army." 

Here Cornwallis held his head quar- 
ters for a time, but he did not find 
Charlotte a bed of roses. Tarleton, 
who was with Lord Cornwallis, "has re- 
corded in his Memoirs tnat the coun- 
ties of Mecklenburg and Rowan (he 
calls it Rohan) were more hostile to 
England than any others in America. 
The vigilance and' animosity of the sur- 
rounding districts, checked all the e.\- 
ertions of the well affected, and totally 
destroyed all communication between 
the King'.s troops and the loyalists in 
other parts of the province. No Brit- 
ish commander could obtain any in- 
formation in that position that would 



9 



iacilitate his designs or guide his future 
conduct." Charlotte was styled by the 
British "a pleasant place, but a d— d 
rebellious village." The British for- 
aging parties were constantly harrassed 
and fired upon. Attack was made at 
Polk's Mill (now called Catharhie mills.) 
onh' two miles from town, on the Brit- 
ish' pickets. They received a severe 
repulse at Mclntyre's, seven miles from 
Charlotte, (m the Beattie's Ford road. 
The British army lay from 3Uth Sep- 
tember to about 15 October, at Char- 
lotte, on the field south of the town, 
then occupied by Tliomas Spratt, now 
owned by Major Morrow. Lord Corn- 
wallis had his head quarters in a white 
house on the corner from the old court 
house, second house from the ccn-ner. 
After the glorious battle of King's Moun- 
tain, 7th Oct., 1780, which in fact was the 
turning point of the Revolution — for 
soon after came the victory of the Cow- 
pens, 17th Jan., 1781, then Guilford, 
loth March, following, then Yorktown, 
IDth Oct., which closed the war, — Lord 
Cornwallis fell back from ("harlotte to 
Winnsboro, S. C, to prevent annoy- 
ance, and departed suddenly at night. 
Many other incidents might be pre- 
sented by liistory and tradition con- 
nected with this now flourishing city. 
It is hallowed by a thousand glorious 
reminiscences. We feel that it is al- 
most holy ground, and we are disposed 
to obey the injunction given on Horeb 
to Moses, "Put off thy shoes from ofi' 
thy feet, for the place whereon thou 
standest is holy ground." 

"Of illustrious men," says Thucydides, 
"the whole world is their sepulchre." 
But there are some sacred spots which 
have been speciall}' consecu'ated in the 
memories of all ages of mankind by 
the holy halo which surrounds the il- 
lustrious acts of patriots and martyrs. 
Of these is Marathon of Greece, Ban- 
nockbiu'u of Scotland, and Lexington 
and Chiirlotte of America. 

But chiefly in its glorious record is 
Charlotte, bound up with the event 
we this day commemorate, and the 
patriotic men who accomplished it. 

We have handed down to us their 
names, and regret that neitlier tradi- 
tion or history afl'ord very much, or 
extended information as to the 

LIVES. CHARACTER AND SERVICES OF 
THE SIGNERS OF THE MECKLENBURG 
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

Modesty and liumiiity are the in- 



separable coDipanions of valor and 
virtue. Good men are always ready 
to du great deeds; they are satisfied 
with the consciousness of having done 
their duty. 

They have too niucn rriodesty to 
laud their own actions; and whenever 
described by others, they 

"Blush to find it fame.'" 

Let us of the present age preserve 
tlie small store of information we pos- 
sess. We are connecting links be- 
tween the ()ast and the present. Much 
that is known will perish with us, if 
not preserved. Let us then endeavor 
to imitate the gentle enthusiasm of 
Old Mortality, and to remove the de- 
cay which time is fast bringing over 
their monuments, to deepen the in- 
scriptions, and revive the memory of 
their patriotism, their sacrifices, their 
suft'erings, and their triumphs. For 
this pious purpose let us bring forth 
the liglits tliat History affords us, 
which, like the power of her of Endor, 
can summon the spirits of the liepart- 
ed heroes from tlie dead, so that we 
Civn talk to them "as man talketh to 
man, face to face." 

Unsatisfactory and glimmering as this 
interview may prove, yet it may insjjire 
many among you to examine your 
family records, verify and preserve the 
traditions now fast fleeing away. 

There are six persons of the ttunily 
of Alexander on this record. 

Abram Alexander, the Chairman, has 
descendants present (Dr. Cyrus Alex- 
ander of Cabarrus County, his grandson.) 
He was born in 1718, and was the hon- 
ored Chairman of the Inferior Court, 
and before and after the Revolution, a 
leading magistrate of this county. He 
was a member of the popidar branch of 
the Assemldy in 1774-75. with Thomas 
Polk as colleague. 

During the war, as was to be supposed, 
there was but little use for courts or 
law. "Thei'e were no courts in North 
Carolina," says Josiah Quincey, in 1773. 

From the retreat of Governor Martin 
in June, 1775, to the appointment of 
Governor Caswell in December, 177<). 
the judicial as well as the executive 
powers of the State were exercised by 

1. A Provincial Council for the whole 
Province. 

2. A District Committee of safety for 
each of the Judicial Districts — these 
were appointed by the Provincial Con- 



10 



gress that assembled at Halifax 21st 
August, 1775, and 

3. A County Committee of Safety for 
each county of not less than twenty-one 
persons to be elected annually by the 
people of each county. 

Tlie President of the Council was 
Samuel Johnstone of Chowan Co. The 
members of the Provincial Council for 
this District (Salisbury) were Samuel 
Spencer and Waighstill Avery. The 
members for the District Committee of 
Safety for the Salisbury District were 
Gr;ffi'th Rutherford, John Brevard, Heze- 
kiah Alexander, Benjamin Patton, and 
others. 

The County Committee, elected by 
the people annually in each county, 
executed such orders as they received 
from the Provincial > ouncil. and the 
District Committees of Safety superin- 
tended the observance of the orders of 
the Continental and Provincial Con- 
gresses, and made such rules and regu- 
lations as the internal condition of each 
county demanded. They were not to 
inflict any punishment beyond impris- 
onment. No law suit could be com- 
menced without leave of this County 
Committee, or proceed without their 
approbation. They met once in three 
months at the Court House of their 
respective counties to consult on public 
measures, to correspond with other 
committees, to disseminate information, 
and .supplied the place of Courts. A 
part of the duty of this committee was 
to prevent debtors from absconding by 
attaching their property until the debt 
was secured; to preserve the peace. 
These committees exercised these im- 
portant functions until Justices were 
appointed by the Legislature and com- 
missioned by the Governor. 

It is a curious fact that a careful in- 
vestigation of the records now in Meck- 
lenburg County Court office will show 
that neither the Declaration of 20th 
May, 1775, nor of the 4th of July, 1776, 
obliterate or ignore the existence of 
this Court. This has been used as an 
argument against the Mecklenburg 
Declaration, "but it is equally strong 
against the National Declaration. 

The records prove that on the third 
Tuesday in July. 1776. it was ordered by 
the court "that the several dockets be 
continued." 

The first change of the judicial jjower 
of this court that is recorded, occiu-red 



on the third Tuesday in January-, 1777. 
The records state thus : 

"The Commission of the Peace for the 
State of North Carolina being read, 
Robert Harris, Esq., pursuant to a dedi- 
mus to him directed by His Excellency 
Richard Caswell, Esq., administered the 
oaths to Abram Alexander, Hezekiah 
Alexander, David Reese, Robert Irwin 
and Ephriam Brevard, who also admin- 
istered said oaths to Robert Harris, 
when they took their seats, and procla- 
mation being made court was opened 
according to law." 

We regret that so little is known of 
the life and services of this Chairman of 
the Convention. Will not some pious 
^Eneas take upon his shoulders this 
noble Anchises and bear him safe from 
the waves of neglect and oblivion? 

He was an Elder in the Presbyterian 
Church for many yeai-s, and lies buried 
in the grave yard of Sugar Creek Church. 

On his grave-stone is recorded 

"Abram Alexander, 

Died 22d of April, 1786, 

Aged 68 years." 

"Let me die the death of 'the righteous and my 

last end be lilie his." 

Ad-^iM Alexander was of military 
tastes. He was appointed Lieutenant- 
Colonel of a battalion of Minute Men, 
with Thomas Polk as Colonel and Chas. 
McLean as Major, by the Provincial 
Council held at Johnston Court House. 
18th December, 1775, and Colonel of 
Mecklenburg County with John Phifer 
as Lieutenant-Colonel and John David- 
son and George A. Alexander as Majoi"s, 
bv the Provincial Congress at Halifax, 
on the 4th of April, 1775. 

Hezekiah Alexander was more of a 
statesman than soldier, active and use- 
ful. He was born in Pensylvania in 1728. 
He was appointed a member of the 
Committee of Safety for the Salisbury 
District by the Provincial Congress, 
w^hich met at Hillsboro, 21st August, 

1775, with General Griffith Rutherford, 
John Brevard. Benjamin Patton, and 
others — a position of much responsi- 
bility and power. He was appointed 
by the Provincial Congress in April, 

1776, wdth William Sharp, on the Coun- 
cil of Safety. He was elected a, mem- 
ber of the Provincial Congress from 
Mecklenburg County, which met at 
Halifax, November, 1776, and which 
framed the tirst constitution of the 
State, with Waighstill Avery, Robert 



11 



Irwin, John Phifer, and Zaccheus Wilson 
as colleagues. He was appointed by 
the Provincial Congress which met at 
Halifax, on the 4th April, 1776, Paymas- 
ter of the Fourth Regiment North Caro- 
lina Continentals — Thos. Polk, Colonel ; 
James Thaekston, Lieutenant-Colonel; 
and William Davidson as Major. He 
died 16th July, 1801, and lies buried in 
Sugar Creek Church grave yard. The 
inscription on his tomb-stone reads 
thus : 

In Memory 

of 

Hezekiah Alexander, 

Who Departed this life July 16, 1801, 

Aged 73 years. 

Of John ^IcKxiTT Alexander we have 
more information than of the others. 
He was born in Pennsylvania, near the 
Maryland line, in 1738; served as an 
apprentice to the trade of Tailor; when 
his apprenticeshiij expired, at the age 
of 21, he emigrated to North Carolina; 
m'arried in 1759 Jane Bane. He was 
enterprising, shrewd and honorable ; 
he was member of the Provincial As- 
seinbly in 1772; one of the delegates 
that met at Hillsboro 21st August. 1775. 
He was a member of the Provincial 
Congress that met at Halifax on the 4th 
of April, 1776, with John Phifer and 
Robert Irwin as colleagu&s. He Avas 
the first Senator elected from Mecklen- 
burg under the Constitution, 1777, with 
Waighstill Avery and Martin Phifer, in 
the Commons, as colleagues. He was 
an active participator in the Convention 
of the 20th May, 1775, and preserved 
for a long time the records, of which he 
gave copies to General William R. Da- 
vie, Dr. Hugh Williamson, and others. 
Unfortunately the original was destroyed 
in 1800, when the house of jNIr. Alexan- 
der was burnt. He was one of the Trus- 
tees of the "College of Queen's Museum," 
which was afterwards changed to Lib- 
erty Hall. Mr. Alexander died on the 
10th of July, 1817, and lies buried in 
Hopewell Church burying ground. He 
was for years a leading Elder in the 
Presbyterian Church, and by his walk 
and conversation its firm supporter. 

It is singular that of the Signers of 
the Mecklenburg Declaration so large 
a number were members of this de- 
nomination. One of them was a Pres- 
byterian i^reacher (Rev. H. J. Balcli) 
and others elders and prominent mem- 
bers of that church, which may be truly 
styled the Nursing Mother of Freemen. 



Waighstill Aveuy was also a signer 
of this Declaration. He was an eminent 
lawyer and a native of Connecticut, 
born in 1747 in the town of Groton ; he 
was a graduate of Princeton (1766). 
[A ftimily paper preserved by W. F. 
Avery, Esq., of Charlotte, proves that 
in the Revolutionary War there were 
eight brothers of this family and all pa- 
triots; some of them were massacred at 
Fort Griswold, and some perished at 
Wyoming Valley; some of this family 
still reside at Groton, Connecticut, and 
some at Oswego, and Seneca Lake, New 
York, and some moved to Virginia.] 
He studied law on the Ea.stern Shore of 
JVTaryland with Littleton Dennis. He 
came to North Carolina in 1769, ob- 
tained license to practice laAv in 1770, 
and settled in Charlotte. By his assid- 
uity and ability he soon acquired many 
friends. He was an ardent advocate of 
liberty, but not of licentiousness. In 
1771 he was taken prisoner by the Reg- 
ulators at Yadkin Ferry, but not further 
molested by them. In 1778 he married 
nearNewbern, Mrs. Leah Frank, daugh- 
ter of \\ illiam Probart, of Snow Ilill. 
Maryland, a wealtliy merchant there, 
and who died on a visit to London ; her 
first husband lived and died in New- 
bern. He was a member of the Pro- 
vincial Congress which met at Hillsboro 
on the 21st of August, 1775, one of the 
highest and most important jjositions in 
the State. In 1776 he was a delegate to 
the State Congress at Halifax, which 
met on the 12th of November to form 
a State Constitution, with Hezekiah 
Alexander, Robert Irwin, John Phifer 
and Zaccheus Wilson as colleagues. He 
was appointed to sign proclamation bills 
by this body. In 1777, with General 
John McDowell and John Sevier, he 
was commissioner to treat with the 
Cherokees. 

On the 20th of July, 1777, subse- 
quently with William Sharp, Joseph 
Winston, and Robert Lanier as asso- 
ciates, he made ihe treaty of the Long 
Island of the Holstein, with the 
Cherokees ; a treaty made without 
an oath, and one that has never been 
violated. In 1777 he was elected (the 
first) Attorney General of North Car- 
olina. 

In 1780 while Lord Cornwallis was 
in Charlotte, the British set fire to his 
office destroving all his books and 
his papers. In 1781. he removed to 
Burke county, where he died in 1821, 



12 



leaving a Sdh the late Colonel Isaac 
T. Avery, and three daughters — one of 
vvhoni married William Lenoir, anoth 
FpThoniMs Lenoir, ani the other Mr. 
Poor, of Henderson county, N. C. 

Rrv. Hkzekiah James Balch was 
horn at Deer Creek, Hartford county, 
Maryland, in 1748. He was the uncle 
of Stephen B. Balch, of Georget(iwn, 
D. C. He graduated at Princeton in 
17()6,sanie class with VVaighstill Avery, 
Oliver Ellsworth, of Con., Luther Mar- 
tin of Maryland, and others. 

He came to North Carolina in 1769, 
as a .Missionary to this region; appoint- 
ed hy the iSynods of New York, and 
Philadelphia. He was the first Pastor 
of Rocky River and Poplar Tent 
Churches and remained so to the time 
of his death. He combined in his 
character, great enthusiasm with un- 
tiiiiching hrmness. He d\<i not live 
to see the warmest wish of his heart 
gratified, the independence of his 
country ; and for which he was ready 
to give his life. He died in 1776, and 
lies buried in the grave yard of Poplar 
Tent Churcl) in Cabarrus county. This 
is a copy of the marble over his grave: 

■'Beneath this marble are the mortal 
remains of Rev. Hezekiah J. Balch ; 
tirst Pastor of Poplar Tent congrega- 
tion and oiie of tlie original members 
of the Orange Presbytery. He was 
licensed a Preacher of the everlasting 
Gospel of the Presbytery of Donegal 
in 1766, and rested frou) his labors, A. 
D., 1776 — haviuL' been Pastor of the 
united congregations of Poplar Tent 
and Rocky River ahout seven years. 
He was distinguished as one of a Com- 
mittee of three who prepared the 
Declaration of Independence ; and his 
eloquence, the more effectual from his 
acknowledged wisdom, purity of tno 
live and dignity of character, contribu- 
ted much to the unanimous adoption 
of that instrument on the 20th of 
May 1775." 

There is no name among these sign- 
ers around which clusters more eno- 
bling recollections than that of Ephraim 
Brevard. This family is of Huguenot 
descent. 

On their tamous march in piu-suit of 
(Ireene from the Catawba to Dan Riv- 
er, (1781,) the British army plundered 
and burned the house of John Brevard 
his father; and for the reason that he 
had "seven sons in the rebel army." It 
is but truth to sav that in general or- 



ders. Lord Cornwaliis was "highly <.lis- 
pleased, and denounced these acts as a. 
disgrace to the army." Ephraim Bre 
vard who signed the Declaration, was 
the eldest son, born in Cecil county, 
Maryland. He had the misfortune to 
loose in childhood, one of his eyes ; 
yet this did not disturb his studies, for 
he was liberally educated. He gradua- 
ted at Princeton in 1768, in the same 
class with Adlai Osborne and Pierpont 
Edwards, and studied medicine. He 
settled in Charlotte. He was in the 
expedition with General Rutherford in 
1776, against the Cherokees. 

While engaged as one of the Teach- 
ers in the Queen's Museutu, a compa- 
ny of the j'ouths were raised to join 
in putting down thetories; and he was 
appointed the Captain ; they marched 
towards the Cape Fear, and on learning 
the defeat at More's Creek of the tories, 
the}' returned. 

Inheriting from his family a devo- 
tion to liberty and independence, he 
early became distinguished for his 
boldness and decision. He drew the 
resolutions which the convention 
adopted, and acted as one of the secre- 
taries. He joined the army as a Sur- 
geon and went to Charleston, where, 
with Lincoln in 1780, he was taken a 
prisoner. He suffered so nnich from 
confinement and unwholesome diet, 
that his health gave way ; he was re- 
leased, and returned home only to die. 
He reached the house of his friend and 
fellow patriot, John McKnit Alexander, 
where he died. 

He married a daughter of Thomas 
Polk ; one daughter survived him, who 
married Dickinson, of South Carolina, 
whose son fell in battle at Mexico. 

He lies buried in the lot now oc- 
cupied by A. Brevard Davidson, Esq., 
in Charlotte. On this same lot was 
located the College called the Queen's 
Museum, afterwards Liberty Hall. 

RrcHARi) Barky was another signer of 
the Mecklenlnirg Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. He was born in Pennsylva- 
nia, of Scotch-Irish descent; he remov- 
ed to Mecklenburg county, previous to 
the Revolution, and settled in Hope- 
well congregation, and married Anne 
Price. He acted for many years as a 
magistrate, and was in the army as a 
soldier, and present at the affair of Cow- 
an's Ford, where he aided with others 
in disputing the passage of the British, 
when and where General D;ividson was 



>sifni 



killed. He and Daifii^ Wilson and 
others, buried the body by a torch- 
light in the grave-yai'd of Hopewell 
•congregation, 

"We buried him darkle' at dead of night, 
The sod with our r ayoiiets turnitig. 

By the struggling moon beams misty light, 
And our torches dimly burning." 

He died the 21st of August, 1801, 
leaving several children. A. M. Barry, 
Esq., who resides near where his grand- 
father lived is the sole surviving grand- 
son. Mrs. A. A. Harry, Mrs, G. K 
Sample, Mrs. Jane Alexander, are the 
surviving grand-daughters. 

John Davidson, another signer of 
this paper, was born in Pennsylvania, 
1736. He was a member of the popular 
branch of the Assembly in 1771. He was 
appointed by the Provincial Contrress 
whicii met at Halifax in April 1776, a 
Field officer (Major) with Adam Alex- 
ander as Colonel, John Phifer Lieuten- 
ant Colonel, and George A. Alexander 
2d Major. He was the maternal grand- 
father of Gov. William A. Graham. 
He married Violet, daughter of Samuel 
Wilson, whose sister was the wife of 
Ezekiel Polk. 

He was a delegate with Joseph Gra- 
ham to both conventions which con- 
sidered the Federal Constitution. His 
military reputation was high ; he was 
with Sumter in August, 1780, at the 
battle of the Hanging Rock, and was a 
General in the State. He was entei'- 
prising and suceessfid in Inismess. With 
Alexander Brevard and Joseph Graham 
he established Vesuvius Furnace, Terza 
Forge, and other iron works. He died 
in 1832, at the house of his son-in-law, 
Wm. Lee Davidson, and lies buried 
near Toole's Ford. He left several 
children. His eldest daughter, Rebec- 
ca, married Alexander Brevard ; Isabel- 
la married Joseph Graham ; Mary mar- 
ried Dr. McLean ; another daughter 
married Harris ; Violet married Wm. 
B. Alexander, son of John McKnit Al- 
exander; Sally married Rev. Alexander 
Caldwell, a son of Dr. David Caldwell. 
His son Robert Davidson had no chil- 
dren. His son John married Sally 
Brevard, daughter of Adam Brevard. 
Robert married IVIargaret, daughter of 
Adlai Osborne. 

Robert Irwin was a prominent poli- 
tician and a signer of ilie Declaration 
of Independence. He was a member 
from .Mecklenburg county to the State 



Congress which met in Oct. 1776. and 
whicii formed the first Constitution of 
the State, with Waighstill Avery, Heze- 
kiah Alexander, John Phifer and 
Zaccheus Wilson as colleagues. He 
was Senator in the General Assembly 
in 1778 to 1783— and 1797 to 1800. 
He was an Elder in the Presby- 
terian Church. He died leaving seven 
children — and lies buried in Steel 
Creek church graveyard. 

The name of Wm. Kennon is among 
the signers of the Declaration. His 
name appears in the Proceedings of 
the Committee of Safety of Rowan 
county 1774, as Chairman ; and the 
memorial of John Dunn shows that he 
was active in arresting said Dunn as a 
person dangerous to liberty; and with 
Mr. Willis, brother-in-law of Kennon, 
.Adlai Osborne and Sam 1 Spencer, seized 
said Dunn, and sent him to S. Carolina. 
He resided in Salisbury and was an 
Attorney at Law. He was in the first 
Congress in opposition to Royalty at 
Newbern in August 1774, and Commis- 
sary to the 1st Regiment in 1776. 

Neal Morrison has three grand- 
children now living, (1875) — James H. 
Morrison, aged S3, and Mrs. Margaret 
Wilson, residing in Mecklenburg coun- 
ty, and Mrs. Margaret Osborne, now 
living in Corinth, Mississippi. 

Benjamin Patton, another signer, 
was a man of iron firmness and of 
indomitable courage. Descended from 
the blood of the Covenanters, he had 
all their tenacity of purj)ose and 
purity of character. The devoted 
friend of liberty, he was among the 
first and foremost in the cause ; he was 
a member of the popidar branch of 
the Assembly in 1774. He was delega- 
ted by the people of Mecklenbui-g to 
meet the Provincial Congress at New- 
herue on the 25th of August, 1774. 
This was the first meeting of the repres- 
entatives of the people, adverse and in 
open contempt of the royal power in 
North Carolina. The royal Governor, 
Martin, issued his proclamation against 
this meeting, as being without legal au- 
thority. This is an epoch in our histo- 
ry. It is true, it Avas not a battle or a 
conflict of arms, but it was the first act 
in a great drama, in which battles and 
blood were the direct and inevitable con- 
sequences. Had he had the power, 
Governor Martin would have seized 
everv member of this bodv and tried 



14 



them for treason. He summoned his 
Council, but the Council, either alarmed 
or tinctiTred with the spirit of the times, 
declared that "nothing coiild be done." 
Tradition informs u.s, that Mr. Patton 
could not get a horse or any conveyance, 
for they had no railroads or stages then, 
and he walked from Charlotte to New- 
berne, rather than not be with those 
determined on liberty or death. Al- 
though advanced in years, he showed 
all the enthusiasm of youth. He was 
appointed by the Provincial Congress 
that met at "Hillsboro on the 21st of Au- 
gust, 1775, Major of the 2nd Continen- 
tal Regiment— Robert Howe, Colonel, 
Alexander Martin. Lieut. Colonel ; Jas. 
Blount, Hardy Murfree and Hemy Ir- 
win Toole, were Captains in this Regi- 
ment. All distinguished in after life, and 
founders of large and influential fami- 
lies. He was a n:iember from Meck- 
lenburg of the Provincial Congress that 
met at Halifax on the 4th of April, 
1776, with John McKnit Alexander and 
John Phifer, as colleagues, and by this 
body he was promoted to the Lieuten- 
ant Colonelcy of the 2nd Continental 
Regiment ; Alexander Martin Colonel, 
and John White Major. Of his milita- 
ry record in such higli position, we 
know nothing, but with John Paul 
Barringer and Martin Phifer, as asso- 
ciates, he was a member of the Com- 
mittee of Safety, formed for this coun- 
ty, Avith very full powers. They were 
a "terror unto evil doers." They held 
their meetings at the Red Hill on the 
Salisbury road. He died near Concord 
on the banks of the Irish Buffalo. No 
monument marks his grave. 

"They carved not a line, they raised not a 

stone. 
But left him alone in his plory.'" 

John Phifer was a distinguished man 
among the men of '75. He was the 
son of Martin, who was a native of 
Switzerland, and of Margaret Black- 
welder. The original name is spelled 
Pfifer. He was born in 1745 ; he lived 
on Buffalo at Red Hill, known to this 
day, as Phifer's Hill. He was a mem- 
ber of the Popular Branch of the As- 
sembly 1771. He was appointed by 
the Provincial Council which was 
held at the Court House in Johnston 
County in Dec. 1775, Lieutenant Colo- 
nel of the Ist Battalion of Minute men, 
in the Salisbury district; of which 
Griffith Rutherford was Colonel, and 
John Paisly Major. He was a member 



of the Provincial Congress that met 
at Hilisboro on 21st August, 1775, and 
also of that which met at Halifax on 
4th April, 1776, with John McKnit 
Alexander and Robert Irwin as col- 
leagues ; and by that body appointed 
Lieutenant Colonel, of Coi. Adam 
Alexander's Regiment. He was a 
member of the Provincial Congress at 
Halifax, Nov. 1776, from Mecklenburg, 
which formed the Constitution with 
Hezekiah Alexander, Waighstill 
Avery, Robert Irwin, and Zaccheus 
Wilson, as colleagues. He married 
Catherine Barringer. His decendants 
have proved the valor and patriotism 
of their ancestry. His grand-son, 
Genernl Charles JPhifer, distinguished 
himself at Shiloh in our late civil war- 
He filled an early grave and lies buried 
at the Red Hill on the Salisbury Road. 
A decaying head stone marks his last 
resting place. Tradition informs us, 
that as the British army marched from 
Charlotte to Salisbury, his grave was 
desecrated by the troops. As the 
British did not march by this route to 
Salisbury, this tradition is a myth; If 
done, it was by other impious hands 

Thomas Polk, the last signer which 
we shall notice ; is a historic name in 
North Carolina as well as in our na- 
tion. He was the early, constant and 
enduring friend of libertj', the unfalt- 
ering opponent of power and oppres- 
sion He was with Abram Alexander 
member of the Assembly in 1771 and 
1775, from Mecklenburg He was ap- 
pointed by the Provincial Council in 
17.75, Colonel of 2d Battalion of minute 
Men with Adam Alexander as Lieu't. 
Col. and Charles McLean as Major. 

As Colonel of Mecklenburg, he 
issued orders to each Captain's Com- 
pany to select, and send delegates to 
the Convention, whose deeds we this 
day commemorate. This act alone en- 
titles him to our gratitude. 

By the Provincial Congress which 
m.et at Halifax on 4th April, 1776, he 
was appointed Colonel of the 4th Regi- 
ment of Continental Troops — with 
James Thackstone as Lieu't Col. and 
William Davidson as Major. The lat- 
ter became distinguished as a Ceneral, 
and fell disputing the passage of Lord 
Cornwaliis at Cowan's Ford 1st Feb. 
1781. In 1781 he was appointed Brig. 
General on the death of Davidson. 

When General Greene took com- 
mand of the Southern army, Thomas 



15 



Polk was appointed to superintend the 
<;ommissarv department, a most trouble- 
some and ungracious office at any 
time, but at 'this, with a country just 
then devasted and stripped by an inva- 
ding army, most difficult to discharge 
with satisfaction. I have letters of 
General Greene in my possession, 
showing his high appreciation of Colo- 
nel Polk's services. He resigned in 

1780, recommending William R. Davie, 
as a suitable successor. I have also in 
my possession, an original letter of his 
which I herewith present: 

Camp, Yadkin River, Oct. 11, 1780. 
Gentlemen: — I have the pleasure to 
inform you that on Saturday last, the 
noted Colonel Ferguson, with 150, 
fell on King's Mountain, 800 taken 
prisoners with 1,500 stand of arms. 
Cleaveland and Campbell commanded. 
A glorious afl'air. In a few days, doubt 
not, we will be in Charlotte, and I will 
take possession of my house, and his 
Lordship take the woods. I am gentle- 
men, with respect, your humble ser- 
vant, Thos. Polk. 

He died at Charlotte in 1793, and 
lies buried in the graveyard of the 
Presbyterian Church. He married Su- 
san Spratt, and left several children, 
among them was Col. Wm. Polk, who 
commenced his career in a campaign 
under his father, in the expedition 
against the Scovilite Tories in the au- 
tumn of 1775 ; he was with Nash at 
Germantown in 1777, and with David- 
son when he fell at the Catawba in Feb. 

1781, and with Greene at Eutaw in 
Sept. 1781. He was severely wounded 
at the latter place, the efiects of which 
he carried to his grave. He held the 
rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the ar- 
my when the war closed. He returned 
to Charlotte and represented Mecklen- 
burg county in 1787-'90-'91. He lived 
for a long time in Raleigh, holding a 
position as President of one of the 
Banks, where he died about 1830, leav- 
mg a widow who was a daughter of Col. 
Hawkins, and several children ; among 
them Bishop Polk, of Louisiana, who 
was killed in the late civil war, while 
holding the position of General. Gen- 
eral Thos. G. Polk (now dead) and Mrs. 
Kenneth Rayner. wife of Hon. Ken- 
neth Rayner, a distinguished son of 
North Carolina, now residing in De 
Soto county. Miss., and one of the 
Judges of the Alabama Court of Claims 
(Geneva Commission.) One of the 



brothers of Thomas Polk was Ezekial 
Polk whose grandson, Jas. K. Polk, was 
President of the United State, in 1845. 

The Memoirs of the distinguished 
man, his life and services, and that of 
his decendents, would afford ample ma- 
terial for the Histoi'ian, We learn that 
efforts are being made to rescue from 
oblivion, these recollections, which will 
prove a most acceptable addition to 
our history. 

We have now endeavored to present 
a rapid sketch of the lives and services 
of many of the signers of the Mecklen- 
burg Declaration of Independence. Al- 
though compiled from authentic sour- 
ces yet it doubtless contains errors ; cer- 
tainly, it is meagre in matter. Yet the 
errors, when detected, may be corrected; 
and the matter by research and indust- 
ry may be much enlarged. Others with 
the same zeal, but more ability, will 
follow up these researches. We have 
only just opened the mine, others hands 
are we trust ready to explore its hidden 
wealth and develope its buried treas- 
ures! The field is large, but the labor- 
ers are few ! 

The names, the services of these il- 
lustrious ancestors, should be held in 
perpetual remembrance. 

"These are the deeds which should not pass away 

And names that must not wither, 

Though the earth forgets her empires, 

With a just decay, 

The enslavers and the inslaved ; 

Their death and birth." 

We are informed by history that 
Xerxes, son of Darius, when review- 
ing his myriads, from a stately throne 
on the plains of Asia, suddenly shed a 
torrent of tears at the recollection 
that the mutitude of men he then 
saw before his t;yes in one hundred 
years should be no more. 

No one now here, will ever see ano- 
ther Centennial! 

Then, how impressive, and impor- 
tant, is the duty to preserve the me- 
morials now extant, but rapidly 
fleeing away, of an event which 
marks the age, and immortalizes the 
actors. It should have an induring 
monument. While Bunker Hill lifts 
its proud column to the skies, raised 
by patriotism, and founded by liberal- 
ity and consecrated by genius; wtiile 
memorials of enduring marble present 
to posterity the form and lineaments 
of exalted characters of other sections 
of our country, shall North Carolina, 
with such glowing traditions, and pa- 



16 



friotic examples raise no memorial 
of her galiant ancestry? 

Let this anniversary be decreed a 
holy day in our State, and a monu 
nient rise from the very spot to per- 
petuate its memory. 

"Human beings," said Mr. Webster 
at the laying of the corner stone of 
the Bunker Hill monument, '"are 
composed, not of reason only, but of 
imagination and sentiment; and that 
is neither wasted or misapplied which 
is appropriated to giving right direc- 
tion to sentiments; and opening the 
proper springs of the human heart." 
In rearing a monument on the very 
spot where the first Declaration was 
made, we direct the mind by an ele- 
vated object to the moral causes that 
produce(i the great Revolution, 

We dwell upon the pure hearted 
characters, the noble daring, and the 
chivalric patriotism by which it was 
achieved; and to the numberless bless- 
ings that have come down to us by its 
happy consummation. 

Before this monument, age may re- 
joice in the fruits of his labors; from 
it youth may receive inspirations of 
patriotism l>y their e.xample, and re- 
solve to emulate their career of hon- 
or. In the language of the orator, 
just referred to, "we wish that this 
column, rising toward Heaven, amid 
temples dedicated to GOD, njay pro- 
duce in all minds a pious feeling of 



dependence and gratitude. Let it 
arise until it meet the sun in his 
coming; let the earliest light of the 
morning gild it and {)arting day ling- 
er and play on its summit." 

Then around the column of each 
annual anniversary; our State holidays 
let the patriotism, the genius and the 
beauty of our people be gathered to- 
gether, then and there to hear again the 
trials and the triumphs; the grievanc- 
es and the glories of "'the Men of 
Mecklenburg;" 

In the language of the Fifth Henry 
before Agincourt, may we not, antici- 
pating these patriotic re-unions, feel 

He that ontlives this day and comes safe home. 
Will stand on tip toe when this day is named. 
Old men forget, yet all shall not forget 
But till y"ll remember the deeds done this day. 
Then shall these immortal names 
Be as familiar ill tlieii- nioiiths as household words. 
And all in their flowing caps be freshly remem- 
bered. 

I have now finished my work. 1 
have traced with a ra^jid hand our early 
history. I have shown the principles 
Avhich formed the character of its early 
settlers ; I have dwelt upon the Men of 
Mecklenburg and of Clharlotte— which 
I have seen from a scattering village 
grow^ to a beautiful city — full of enter- 
prize, energy and patriotism. I feel 
like the good old patriarch. 

"Nunc Domine, dimitte in pacem." 

I sincerely bid vou farew'ell. 



Notes. — There were four Provincial Congresses which iissembled in North 
Carolina previous to the Constitution: 

1. On the 2oth of August, 1774. at New-l)ern. John Harvey, Chairman ; Benja- 
min Patton member from iNIecklenburg. 

2, 21st of August, 177o, at Hillsboro. Samuel Johnston, Chairman. 

8. 4th of April, 1776. at Halifax. Samuel Johnston, Chairman; John Phifer. 
Robt. Irwin, John McNitt Alexander, memljers from Mecklenburg. 

4. 12th November, 1776, at Haliiax, (which on the 18th day of December, 1776. 
tulopted State Constitution.) — See Journal, p. ^1. Richard Caswell, President: 
Waighstill Avery, Hezekiah Alexander, John Phifer, Robert Irwin, Zaccheus 
Wilson, members from Mecklenburg. 

North Carolina before the Declaration of Independence of '76 showed the 
valor of her sons 

1. At Alamance in 1771, against Governor Tryon. 

2. The Scovilist campaign (so-called from Scovil, the name of a British emis- 
sary,) Col. Polk of 3Iecklenburg, General Rutherford of Rowan, Col. Neel of 
Tryon, two companies of Continental troops, imder Col. Alexander Martin, in 
conjunction with the troops from South Carolina, in December, 177'")— ctilled also 
the Snow Cam])aign. — Gov. Graham's Address, p. 100. 

3. The battle of Moore's Creek against the Scotch Tories, 27tli February, 1776. 

4. The expedition of General Rutherford against the Cherokee Indians, 1776. 



THE LIVES AND CHARACTERS 



OF THE 



SIGNERS 



OF THE 



MECKLENBtJEa DECUEATIOU OP lUDEPEHDEUCE, 



OF THE 



Wwm &v Mart n'9i 



Delitered at Charlotte, H, C, oa tho 24th of May, 1875, 

AT THE REQUEST OF THE 

MECKLENBURG HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 

BY 

JOHN H. WHEELER, 

Author of the History of North i<irolina. 



Published by Order of the Mecklenburg Historical Society. 



CHARLOTTE : 

Observer Book and Job Power Press Print. 

1875. 



I. 



H 33 89 4 

















0^ 



'^ov^ 







HECKMAN 

BINDERY INC. 



^^ APR 89 

N. MANCHESTER, 
INDIANA 46962 







